Cutting and Polishing

Buyers known as diamantaires are often members or representatives of families that have dealt in the purchase, cutting and polishing and sale of gem-quality diamonds for generations. These parties attend auctions at accredited and registered diamond bourses around the world and place competing bids to 'win' the diamond parcels of their choice, which is largely dependent on their particular planned end use. Every diamond is unique due to its journey from deep depths of the Earth's volcanic pipes all the way to its manufacturing, ready to be set on a piece of jewellery, or selected for industrial use. All diamonds have qualities which allow buyers the ability to define and evaluate them from one another, called the 4C's of Diamonds, which include - Cut - Color - Clarity and Carat. It is the typically the variation, or a diamond's potential to meet certain of these 4C's that will price one stone higher than another.

CARAT - The weight of a diamond is measured by the term carat. One carat equals 0.2 gm. While the price per carat does tend to increase with increasing size of individual stones, there are typically more sharp jumps around milestone carat weights. These increases in value are also not proportionate, as a diamond of 5 carats is worth much more than five 1-carat stones of the same quality.

CLARITY - The clarity of a diamond can be lessened by various kinds of imperfections. Among these imperfections are inclusions (other substances enclosed in the crystals), small bubbles, small fissures or cracks, and off coloring not deemed to be desirable.

COLOUR - The best-quality diamonds (and the most valuable) are completely colourless ... allowing white light to pass through and be dispersed as rainbows of colour. Very few diamonds reach this standard, and ones that exhibit such tendencies bring a premium price.

Most diamonds are tinged with colour. If a diamond's colour is sufficiently intense, it is prized as a gem and called a "fancy". Most people are knowledgeable to the fact that traditional diamonds of clarity are more expensive, and virtually all have seen varying intense yellow diamonds which are again sold at a premium to normal diamonds. What many do not realize, is that rare diamonds appear in various colors such as purple, red, blue and pink, and black, all of which depending on their intensity and clarity can bring prices many multiples of that of traditional diamonds.

CUT - A well-cut diamond will internally reflect light from one facet to another and finally disperse it through a top facet of the stone. Diamonds that are cut too deep or too shallow lack brilliance because light escapes through the sides or bottom. There are various varieties of cuts which are largely based on consumer preference, the design of the jewelry items being procured, and the suitability of a rough diamond to maximize the use of the rough stone.